Top Official Receives 15% Pay Increase

OAKLAND PARK - — City Manager Robert "Skip" Johnston, the city's fifth manager in three years, will receive a $10,000 raise.

Johnston was hired in November at an annual salary of $65,000, making him one of the lowest paid city managers in Broward County.

After Johnston spent six months on the job, the City Commission was pleased with his performance and agreed to the 15 percent raise.

Commissioner Robert Sproc proposed an increase of only $2,000, but the commission said Johnston deserved more.

The vote to raise Johnston's salary to $75,000 was 4-1. Sproc was the sole commissioner voting against it at the commission meeting last Wednesday.

Johnston, 55, a Fort Lauderdale native, became Oakland Park's top administrator after resigning as president of United States Basic Skills Investment Corp., a nonprofit firm in Virginia.

Before that, Johnston worked 31/2 years in former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez's administration as director of the Division of Labor, Employment and Training.

Johnston, 55, was an assistant city manager in Fort Lauderdale between 1969 and 1973. He later served 15-month stints as city manager in Oakland Park and Hallandale before becoming executive director of the Broward Employment Training Administration, a post he held for 101/2 years.

He resigned in 1985 to become executive director of a computer firm in Valley Forge, Pa.

Johnston replaced interim City Manager Woodward "Woody" Hampton, a former Pembroke Pines administrator. Hampton was hired in 1993 after then-City Manager John Kelly was fired by a new commission majority following its election.

Kelly was criticized for dispatching a city crew to Coral Springs to clean up debris in his yard as Hurricane Andrew approached in August 1992. He later came under fire for placing the cronies of his commission supporters on the payroll.

Hampton served as interim manager until January 1994, when the commission hired James McFellin, the ex-manager in Longwood, Fla. McFellin, however, quit after four months.

The commission said McFellin wasn't providing leadership, but he accused commissioners of not providing him with any direction. Hampton served a second stint as interim manager until Johnston was hired.